About the Workshops

The Windows 8 Game and App Development Workshops are a series workshops to help you get started developing apps for Windows 8 and using Unity to develop games for Windows 8.

These workshops lead to a competition that challenges you to combine your technical skills and creativity to create the next best product or app, potentially leading to a startup, or some great PR.

These workshops can also be used as a stepping stone towards a few larger competitions with a focus on socially responsible themes, including the iCampus Student Prize and the IDEAS Global Challenge, or to the Imagine Fund.

Required Software

We’d like you to install all the necessary software before the attending the workshops.

Visual Studio 2013 (Required for all workshops, you can signup for a free Dreamspark account using your .mit.edu email address)

Monday, January 13, 2014, Unity Game Development (10am-4pm, 4-261)

This workshop will focus on development of 2d games with Unity 4.3 for the Windows 8 modern UI platform. Students will be introduced to key gaming concepts and workflow, with a focus on integrating native Windows 8 features such the Share contract and hardware components such as the camera and accelerometer. The workshop will also cover the requirements and steps for submitting games to the Windows Store, for which all students are provided a free publisher account. Lastly, the session will include a discussion of monetization options and key marketing techniques to accelerate attendees’ success as game publishers!

This workshop will focus on developing Windows 8 modern UI applications with C# and XAML. Students will be introduced to key concepts surrounding the consumption and display of data via a wide variety of open APIs (including EchoNest, ESPN, Rotten Tomatoes, EventBrite, Meetup, and more). The workshop will also cover the requirements and steps for submitting applications to the Windows Store, for which all students are provided a free publisher account. Lastly, the session will include a discussion of monetization options and key marketing techniques to accelerate attendees’ success as mobile application developers!

Incentives

The last couple years have had incredible prizes! Kinects, Surface tablets. What’s in store for this year?

A Dell Venue Pro for the top project in each workshop

XBox Points

And more!

Food: Lunch and snacks served each day.

The starting point for more!

These workshops can also be used as a stepping stone towards a few larger competitions with a focus on socially responsible themes, including:

MIT iCampus Student Prize: The iCampus Student Prize recognizes the innovative and creative application of technology that improves living and learning at MIT. The competition builds upon the entrepreneurism and spirit of service exhibited by MIT students to solve the world’s problems by focusing attention of what might be improved closer to home in MIT’s education and student life. See icampusprize.mit.edu for more information.

MIT IDEAS Global Challenge: IDEAS Global Challenge is an annual invention and entrepreneurship competition for innovative service projects that positively impact underserved communities. Through IDEAS teams of MIT students and their collaborators work with a community partner to design and implement innovative projects that improve the quality of life in communities around the world. See web.mit.edu/mitpsc/whatwedo/ideas-competition for more information.

Microsoft Imagine Fund: An early stage student startup fund and school that provides you and your team with seed money to help kick off your business and a 10 week long immersive program with access to tools, learning resources, technical experts and 1:1 mentoring. Those accepted to the program will have a chance to be one of three US teams to compete in the Imagine Cup Semifinals. See www.imaginefund.com for more information.